The Board of Trustees of Kochi Port has decided to debar the dredging contractor Jaisu Shipping from carrying out dredging operations in the port's channel for the next five years.

The board has also decided not to open the tender submitted by the company for the maintenance dredging in the channel during the current fiscal.

It was also decided to seek compensation from Jaisu Shipping for the delay in achieving the required draught of 14.5 metre in the ICTT berth basin, which was a pre-requisite for the terminal operator DP World to enable mother vessels to berth in the terminal.

It may be recalled that the Port Trust had issued a show-cause notice to the dredging company asking it to explain why it should not be blacklisted as the company had abandoned the capital dredging operations without completions.

Despite being given sufficient time to complete the dredging operations, the company had not completed the capital dredging works in the ICTT berth basins to achieve 14.5 metre draught there which was assured to the terminal operator at Vallarpadam.

Meanwhile, the Board has shortlisted Dredging Corporation of India and Mobius DDIL, a joint venture between Dharti Dredging and Infrastructure Ltd and the German-based Mobil for the maintenance dredging in the channel for the three consecutive years starting from the current fiscal.

The price bids for the Rs 320-crore dredging work will be opened tomorrow. Unlike the past, the port has decided to go for dredging for three consecutive years to reduce the costs.

However, dredging companies such as Vaan Oord, Mercator Dredging, ASR dredger services have submitted their bids for the work to complete the remaining portion of capital dredging works in the ICTT berth basin.

The work comprises removing 2.5 million cubic metres at a cost of Rs 40 crore.

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